Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted.I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!

I’m just watching the show every week to see Demi ruin all of her contestants’ lives.

girlygirltoo

I hate treachly Celine Dion songs, but Carly Rose was really good. Also thought Vino was very good.

Yup, that’s about it.

http://twitter.com/HighTensions Jake Williams

Favorite tonight was Diamond with Carly not far behind her.

b_james

Diamond and Carly were my favorites as well. I really like Fifth Harmony and Jennel, but the rest…ehhh.

kirble

I guess I’m alone in really liking Paige. Well, almost alone. The “out of breath” moments (as MJ described it) were because she kept turning her face from the mic. She shouldn’t have had a hand held when there was so much movement. Besides that, I thought she did a fab job with her song, especially on a night when so many others were so lackluster.

Every other week Carly has gotten my vote, but considering this is the second (?!) time in one week that we’ve heard a reality show contestant sing “My Heart Will Go On,” I just don’t have the. . . heart. . . to vote for her. Eh. She’ll be back to being my favorite next week, I’m sure, but tonight belongs to Paige for me.

http://profile.yahoo.com/XDQP2Y46M5B3OHOKALDDGDHQCM Leandro

Demi as a mentor and Khloe as a host are Simon’s response for everyone who was whining about Nicole as a mentor and Steve Jones as a host: stop complaining cause things can get worse.

http://twitter.com/HighTensions Jake Williams

agree. completely. Would rather have them than Steve or Nicole(shudder)

kirble

Nicole’s actually doing pretty well on the UK X Factor. All three of her acts are in the top 6 (even this year’s joke contestant). She’s also coming across pretty likeable. Shocking, I know.

(oh, and Leandro meant the opposite of what you think, lol. He’s saying Khloe and Demi are steps down from Steve and Nicole. While I think Demi’s debatable on that count, Khloe is completely unnecessary with Mario Lopez hosting).

Tate: Diva week, I reckon he did the best he could and I really felt him and his vocals soared!

Carly: I actually liked this better than last week. Something about the control and phrasing felt better this week. But I still think she is capable of more the songs haven’t been quite right. Nothing has come close to her audition yet from anyone in this competition for me. Here is me hoping that she can do that sorta thing again.

Vino: I agree with Simon partially. I thought better than last week but still hasn’t peaked or found the right song.

Beatrice: I actually liked this very much. It really did feel real. It was so sad. Beatrice has something sorta dark about her stage persona that I think makes her kinda unique.

Emblem3: Better than most of the others but… these guys have shown nothing of what they can do! I know its part of the plan Simon but i’m getting a bit impatient lol. I want an original from them now! The second half felt exactly like Chris Rene’s performance last year on the same song.

Diamond: Better than last week. Started shaky but solid. Much more appropriate song.

Fifth Harmony: Splendid….. IF the song wasn’t Hero… and they were competing as individuals.

Jennel: Her vocals just seemed really… weak. Just not as strong as they were in the auditions or in Boot Camp.

Lyric145: They always deliver. But really Simon.. ET/We Will Rock You?! Completely agree with Demi on this. If a mash up of random songs didn’t work well for Emblem3 Simon… what makes you think that this would be any better for these guys? I love this group though hope they get saved. Last week I could actually understand why they would be so low. The performance could be very polarising.

Arin: He really isn’t the best vocalist. But I give him ups for trying. He doesn’t have the chops to sing a huge ballad either.

Paige: Does she actually enunciate any words when she’s not belting? I couldn’t hear anything she was saying besides the belting.

CeCe: I agree with Britney. I don’t get it. I agree with Simon. They are both getting this wrong. I don’t think CeCe is sure about her musical identity. Now shes becoming that girl who chose to audition with Unchained Melody. I want Aint No Other Man CeCe back.

WestiesRule

I wasn’t crazy about any of the performances this week. Simon seems to be killing Lyric 145. I wonder what they rehearsed all week for him to kill it in the 9th hour. Demi needs to be shown the door and Britney actually woke up for a moment to brilliantly diss Simon. Sometimes I wonder if I’m watching the same show as the judges. I wish they would turn down the screaming, give Khloe a muscle relaxer, have both she and Mario more rehearsal time or stop moving their teleprompters around, and all 4 of them had better start coming up with better song choices. There is something very wrong about the US version that I have yet to put my finger on after a season and a half. I keep hoping……

Jordana33

I voted for Carly because for just that moment, I actually liked a song that I normally hate. Vino was probably my second favorite. Diamond, Beatrice, Arin and Paige were all OK. I did not like the remaining performances.

Both CeCe and Janelle were terrible (I’m not sure what Simon and the others were hearing with Janelle). Tate wasn’t as good as usual and none of the groups delivered this time. Simon is really messing up Lyric 145….maybe Britney should train them. I’m not surprised that Britney is turning out to be a much better coach than Demi.

Something terribly wrong was going on with Khoe’s wardrobe last night.

chillj

Yes, the song choices are horrendous. I tune in to this show very casually, and was surprised last night to notice that singers who are actually good singers were routinely stumbling through bad songs.

thedeviledadvocate

If Simon was not involved in the show last night, here is what I think his opinion of the Xfactor would have been:
The Diva theme had the potential to be a fantastic theme. Unfortunately, the song choices were awful. There was an epic fail on the part of the mentors, in both song choice and presentation. Had these contestants performed these songs during the audition, the only contestant who would have moved on in the competition would have been Carly. The acts did the best they could with the material they were given to work with, nonetheless, the results were horrendous. The only positive about tonights performances is that next week will be much better, because it would be impossible for the show to be any worse than it was last night.

Incipit

If Simon was not involved in the show last night, here is what I think his opinion of the Xfactor would have been:

thedeviledadvocate, that’s an interesting angle to look at the show from. After all those years of emphasizing ‘song choice’ as making the difference – Cowell has a blind spot for just how terribly bad, even downright incompetent at it the mentor/judges (including himself) are proving to be.

Really, not just this show, The Voice as well, and Iovine is too hit or miss to escape being painted with the same brush. It’s as if they are all re-cycling songs we do.not.want to hear again – from some approved list…and trying to manufacture that elusive “moment’ – because they never understood what made them happen in the first place. Oh, they understand all too well what happens after a ‘moment’, and they want control of who, what and when – instead, they stifle the whole cast. IIMO.

I’m just not interested in a puppet show. I don’t even check the videos anymore…if there is a reason to listen, the buzz (from the home audience, not the judges or the shows) will get my attention…as of right now – that still hasn’t happened.

Hand the song choice back to the people whose fortunes are riding on the outcome – let them rise or fall by their own abilities to know or not know what is right for them to sing, and how to sing it – they’ll have my attention again.

I don’t believe I’m the only one who thinks this – but who knows?

JMO. Of Course.

girlygirltoo

I think song choice is the biggest reason Idol has remained above XF and The Voice in terms of coming up with at least some contestants who go on to have success in the real music industry. Yes, they often still have to stick to preapproved lists, but in the end THEY are the ones who pick the songs, not the mentors or coaches, and at least in recent years they have occasionally been able to get songs cleared that we haven’t already heard on singing competitions 8639064 times before. Even with all the stupid theme weeks, we still end up with a better idea of what kind of artist they want to be than we do with XF (and even to an extent with The Voice).

XF (and The Voice) needs to let the contestants pick the songs themselves. If they don’t work, well then they don’t work. That’s life. But at least the contestants would succeed or fail performing songs they actually want to do, not stuff that is forced on them.

SullyD

I totally agree with you, but I also point that Jimmy Iovine may have a lot of say in the songs the contestants choose as well.
I’ve read Casey A, James D, Paul M, Jessica Sanchez and others talking about how Jimmy chose their songs/”helped” them with song choices and things like that.
I think that’s the reason why the contestants haven’t been as creative as they were prior to season 8.

Mateja Praznik

Interesting, I personally rarely like the song choices on American Idol. Song choices on XF USA are better, even though they could still improve some. XF UK usually has pretty good song choices. I don’t watch the Voice USA, but I also think The Voice has better song choices than American Idol.

irockhard

LOL!

Demi is better suited for Idol IMO as they don’t require their judges to mentor. As a mentor she sucks but she’s one of the better female judges I’ve seen.

http://profile.yahoo.com/XDQP2Y46M5B3OHOKALDDGDHQCM Leandro

I agree. Nicole is right now the best judge and mentor on XF UK. I think XK US makes people worse.

irockhard

Quite right, while Idol seems to be less controlling than XF and TV it’s still too controlling for my liking. I fumed when I heard they wouldn’t let James do Kickstart My Heart or 18 & Life (2 songs that have never been performed on AI before) and made him sing that lame Bon Jovi ballad I’ll Be There For You.

justmefornow

Lol. Lame is right.
You noticed they cleared Uprising because Bellamy liked James, but more importantly because Jimmy liked the song.
But when Jimmy didn’t like the choice, they lied about song clearance (never even attempted to reach out to Skid Row or Bach).
I wonder if they would have let James do Dio for top 3 night like he planned?

My guess is no.

irockhard

I wish they would get rid of Jimmy as in house mentor, the contestants don’t need mentors IMO. They have the vocal coaches and Michael Orland which is sufficient and they’re the only ones that really work with them anyway.

lukien

Carly seems to be the one to beat. Emblem3 is losing steam. Tate performs to deliver tons of votes. Vino’s muscular voice makes him acceptable and accessible. Bea’s tone is fantastic. 5th Harmony hasnt really sung to their best potential yet. Diamond is just floating. Jennell and Paige needs to ante up their games if they dont want to leave the competition soon. Arin had a bad day after beautiful performance last week. Lyric 145 kinda annoyed me, especially whrn da Queen screamed to audience when Demi gave her critic. Cece simply the worse. So that’s my order prediction:
1. Carly
2. Emblem3 (altho i was lil disappointed with their performance this week, hence the losing steam comment above, their fans will vote like crazy this week)
3. Tate
4. Bea (sounds cuter and age-appropriate than Beatrice)
5. Vino
6. 5th Harmony
7. Diamond
8. Jennell
9. Paige
10. Arin
11. Lyric 145
12. Cece
Cece will be eliminated first. Arin and Lyric sing for survival with Brit, Demi and LA choose to send home Lyric and Simon will be fuming.
SO FRIKiNG EXCITING about Taylor! Cant hardly wait! Hope she performs Begin Again, my no1 song this week!

lukien

I mean EXCITED! so hard to edit via iPhone. Cant really scroll down, also made a mistake with the ranking. Vino no 4 and Bea no 5

I agree with whover said Demi would be a much better fit on Idol. She is a great judge but is a horrible mentor. CeCe’s performance last night was one of the worst I ever saw. Paige does nothng for me at all. Janelle loved this girl in the beginning but have hated all her live show performances. Demi sucks a a mentor but sheis a really good judge. Britney on the other hand is the opposite good mentor but she just repeats the same words asa judge. She looked more cmfortable last night than her first live show. Britney please say anythig other than amazing. She has become the female Steven Tyler. My faorites were Carly, Tate, Vino and Fifth Harmoy last night.

irockhard

I said that about Demi, I wouldn’t mind if Idol hired Demi and Nick Jonas as judges for S13, Nick Jonas was pretty good during Judges House. Regarding Britney, she would be best as a guest mentor on The Voice.

sumidol

My heart was breaking for CeCe, Demi’s totally ruined her cool unique look, she needs to go back to what she looked like before and be herself again, Demi is the worst judge possible. I liked Carly and Vino

http://profile.yahoo.com/PNSH2QAGCCIS6VU4VOTPDH6BTM Jeanette

I was reading youtube comments saying that Carly had no personality and couldn’t possibly become successful after this. Well I actually did some digging and she was in a theater production of some sort and is actually quite charming. (And a good actress). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDpgek30n2Q&feature=related

http://profile.yahoo.com/XDQP2Y46M5B3OHOKALDDGDHQCM Leandro

She’s a professional broadway actress/singer for 6 years. Of course she’s a good actress at this point.

fuzzywuzzy

“XF (and The Voice) needs to let the contestants pick the songs
themselves. If they don’t work, well then they don’t work. That’s life.
But at least the contestants would succeed or fail performing songs they
actually want to do, not stuff that is forced on them.”

I totally agree, plus the decision on picking the songs also reveals a part of the contestants’ musical sensibilities.